Adolescent occupational injuries in fast food restaurants: an examination of the problem from a national perspective.
Authors
Hendricks-KJ; Layne-LA
Source
J Occup Environ Med 1999 Dec; 41(12):1146-1153
Abstract
Work injuries to adolescents are most prevalent in the retail trades industry, with a large portion occurring in eating and drinking establishments (E&DEs). Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System were examined for nonfatal injuries to adolescents, ages 14 through 17, injured while working in fast food restaurants (a subcategory of E&DEs) from July 1, 1992, to June 30, 1994. There were an estimated 44,765 adolescent injuries in E&DEs, with an estimated 27,997 in fast food restaurants, during this period. The injury rate for E&DEs in the 15 through 17 age group was higher than for all other industries combined (rate ratio [RR] = 1.7), with little disparity in rates between the sexes. This study identifies the fast food industry as the source of a large proportion of occupational injuries to adolescents, and indicates that task-specific risk factors seem to be strongly related to sex.
Keywords
Injuries; Retail-workers; Sex-factors; Injury-prevention; Occupational-hazards; Age-factors; Age-groups; Food-services; Epidemiology; Statistical-analysis
Contact
Kitty J. Hendricks, MA, NIOSH/DSR/SFIB, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
Document Type
Journal Article
Source Name
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
